Improvement in trunk-stays



i parts also bein UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

M. FRANK EI'ILI), OF TERRYVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN TRUNK-STAVS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 146,326, dated January 13, 1874; application filed November 8, 1873.

To all whom 'it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, M. FRANK linnn., of Terryville,.iu the county of Litchfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Device for Holding Open Chest-Covers, of which the following is a specification:

In my improved device, the stump-joint of a hinged arm is let into the top edge ot' one end ot' the tool-chest, and the other end of said arm has its joint in a movable lug, which slides in a slotted plate secured upon the cover of the chest, said plate being also provided with fastening devices for securing the lug in a `certain position, wherebyT the cover may be fastened when perpendicular to the chest, the g so arranged as to allow the chest-cover to be closed when desired, all as hereafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of my improved device. Fie. 2 is a transverse section of the same on line .r of Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a top view of the same in the position it assumes when the cover is closed 5 but the cover is removed in order to show theparts.

It is well known that if a chest-cover falls suddenlyr backward there is danger of breale ing it or its hinges; and also, when used out of doors, it is not always convenient to so place the chest that the cover, when opened, may rest against some object to support it, and, if there were such support, the wind might close the chest sooner than its owner desired.

The object of my invention is, iirst, to provide a supportfor the cover which will prevent it from falling backward; second, to lock it in its open position, so that it can be closed only by design; and, third, to arrange the devices for so doing in such manner that they will not interfere with the ordinary functions or capa-city of the chest.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the cover is shown as secured in a vertical position.

A designates the chest proper, and B its cover. `The brace or arm C is iitted in a slotted stump, D, at one end, and a slotted lug, E, at its other end, and is secured to said parts by means of pintles or other ordinary device for hinging. The stump-joint D is let into the edge of the chest A at one end, and in front of.. its joint a slot, c, is made of sufficient length to receive the arm O. A slotted plate, F, is

secured to the cover B, a portion of the wood behind it being removed to allow the free working of parts hereafter described. The lug E is grooved upon two sides near its base; and the slot in the plate F is large enough at the forward end to allow the base of the lug to pass through it, but is so narrow at other points that the metal upon the sides of the slot must pass int-o the grooves at the base ot' the lug E, thereby formin g ways, upon which the lug E moves lengthwise with the plate F. Other ordinary devices may be substituted to allow and control the longitudinal movement of the lug E in the plate.

Then the cover is closed, the lug E slides to the forward end of the slot in the plate F, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon raising the cover, the lug slides in the slot until the cover is in a vertical position, as showul in Figs. l and 2, when, if the device is properly secured, the pawl b, Fig. 3, engages with the lug E in its notch c, and thus locks the lug, and thereby secures the cover, so that it can be closed only by design.

To close the cover, the thumbcatch d, Fig.

1, is depressed, which forces the wedge j' against the pawl, and disengages it from the lug E, so as to allow it to slide in the slot as the cover is closed, the a-rm O closing into the slot a. in the edge of the chest A, so that the device occupies none of the rooiu designed to receive tools, &c.

Suitable springs of any ordinary construetion are provided to return the. pawl bV and wed ge f to their normal condition after depression.`

The slotted plate, the lug, the arm, and its stump-joint may, it' desired, be used to prevent the cover from falling backward, while the'locliing devices are employed when it is desired to prevent the cover from falling in either direction.

I claim as my invention- The arin C, with its jointed members D and E, in combination with the plate F and the locking device dj' b c, or its equivalent, substantiall y as and for the purpose set forth.

M. FRANK EHLE.

Witnesses:

HENRY M. Coon, ELIZUB FENN. 

